Signaling device.



J. P. McBRIDE.

SIGNALING DEVICE. APPLlCATION HLED FEB. 24. 1914.

1,231,179. Patenqed June 26,1917.

n non.

JAMES P. MCBRIDE, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR TO CARL M. LOVSTED, OF SEATTLE, 'WASHINGTON.

SIGNALING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 26, 191 '7.

Application filed February 24, 1914. Serial N 0. 820,411.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMEs P. MCBRIDE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Seattle, county of King, and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Signaling Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to signaling devices, and has for its principal object to provide a device of this character which is especially adapted for use in the logging indus try, to the end that the lineman may at all times instantly operate the engine whistle. It has heretofore been usual in the art for the lineman to carry with him a large coil of wire which he uncoiled as he moved from the engine toward the tree-felling point, often a half a mile or more: and when the log is ready to be drawn toward the engine, to manually draw the signaling wire taut until the engine whistle was blown. There are many obvious disadvantages connected with this method, chief of which is that, due to the enormous friction between the signaling wire and the ground, stumps, brush, and the like, considerable time must be consumed after the lineman begins to draw upon the wire until a response can be expected from the steam whistle. It is more important than may at first appear that a quick whistle response may be had, and especially is this true when it is desired to signal the engine to shut off the power so that a log which has just become wedged between standing trees may be freed to prevent breaking of the machinery or fixtures, as well as loss of life or limb of the operatives. An ordinary electric bell and its connections has been proposed but the chief objection to such use is that unless an extremely large, cumbersome and expensive bell be employed the signal will be heard by the engineer only, and in case of accident or breakage the crew cannot say positively whether the proper signal was given by the lineman or not. A signal, therefore, which can be easily heard by all of the crew is highly desirable. The invention will be more fully described in the following specification, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my device as applied to an ordinary engine whistle, parts being broken away and other parts shown in section, the

is. pivotally connected, at 4:, the sliding stem 5 which controls the passage of the steam to the whistle, all of which may be of usual construction. To the upper end of the lever 3 is connected, by means of a pin 7 one end of the stem 7 of an 'electro-magnet which, in this instance, is in the form of a solenoid. The stem 7 is shown as broken because it should be understood that it is of a length suflicient to position the magnet a considerable distance from the steam whistle so that the escaping steam will not unfavorably affect the operation of the magnet. To assist in this, holes 7 are provided in the stem 7, through any one of which the connecting pin 7 b may be thrust accordingly as the magnet is required to be placed at a greater or less distance from the whistle. 8 designates a circular casing for the magnet within each end of which is an insulating disk 9, which is secured to the usual tubular stem 10 which is held against end thrust withrespect to the casing 8 by means of the end wall 11 of the said casing and a plate 12 screw-threaded into the said casing, as shown. A collar 12 is inserted between the plate 12 and plunger 11 for the purpose of a limit stop. Around the tubular stem is wound the usual conducting wire 13 which is connected to a suitable source of electrical energy (not shown) and within the said tubular stem slides the core 14, the stem 7 and the said core being integral with each other, and the said core may terminate in a flattened formation as indicated at 15 through which may be a finger aperture 16.

From the foregoing it is believed that the construction and operation of my device will be clear to others. The wire 13 is, of course, insulated and twisted into one main strand of several hundred yards in length and provided with a switch of any usual form at the extreme outer end of the strand, and by manipulation of the switch the two ends of the wire 13 may be brought into and out of close the electrical circuit, and thereby energize and deenergize the magnet. The above indicated strand is uncoiled and carried out by the lineman to the vicinity of the tree-felling operation and when it is desired to signal the engine to shut ofi power, slow down, speed up, etc., all that is necessary is for the lineman to close the switch, which of course results in the movement of the core 10 toward the left as viewed in Fig. 1, which, through the connection already described, allows the steam to actuate the whistle in exactly the same manner as if the lineman had manually drawn upon the wire to accomplish the result, except that when my device is used the whistle response is practically instantaneous while in the manual operation indicated considerable time is lost.

I have shown a particular form of embodiment of my invention but I am aware that many changes therein will suggest themselves to others without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention and therefore I desire to avoid being limited to the exact form shown and described except as limited by the appended claim.

What I claim is' In a solenoid operated steam whistle having a valve controlling lever, the combination of a perforated extension bar one end of which is integral with the core of the solenoid, adjustable hole and pin connection means between the said bar and the whistle lever, whereby the solenoid and whistle may be adjusted as to relative position.

JAMES P. McBRIDE.

WVitnesses:

FRED P. GoRIN, R. D. vSMALLEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D.'C. 

